The Most Difficult Phone Call Ever
Posted on Mon Sep 26th, 2016 @ 6:31pm by Senior Captain Connor McKinney M.D. PhD
Edited on on Wed Sep 12th, 2018 @ 5:16pm
Mission:
My Place In This Universe
Location: Starbase SB900/Somewhere Unknown
Timeline: 2388/05/22 2105 (May 22, 2388 2105)
The following characters came from another simm, in another group. This is the continuation of Connor's story...
In the silent and cold depths of space, SB900 floated placidly above Archadia III. On a deck, in a set of quarters, in her living area, Oralia Zeferino lay on her couch. One hand was idly stroking the Goliath Tarantula named Iggy; the other covering her eyes. It'd been weeks since Connor's death and sometimes, although she had already moved on, she would still find herself subject to grieving when memories of him cropped up.
Iggy, fortunately, understood, even though she was a spider, and simply rested on Oralia's belly.
So it was that when the computer first chirped up and announced an incoming transmission for her, Oralia told the computer to bugger off, if not in so many words. The computer, however, was insistent, which meant that the person on the other end of the transmission was being a pain. "Who is this from, Computer?"
^=^Commander Connor McKinney.^=^
Oz sat up, displacing Iggy. A call from Connor wasn't possible. He was dead. A cruel joke? Who would play such a prank? Furious now, Oralia moved to her desk and opened the transmission.
And just about fell over when whom she had once thought was the love of her life appeared on the screen, looking slightly older, slightly more worn than the last time she'd laid eyes on him. But no, this must be: "Alex McKinney? It's not funny to use Connor's name." Her fury stayed firmly in place.
On the other side of the screen, wearing a patient robe over pajamas, sitting in a wheelchair, was Connor. His heart swelled to see her. He could tell she had been crying. "Oralia..," his voice cracked, "I'm not Alex...."
Not Alex? Oz sat in the desk chair and stared at the image on her screen. It had to be false. Several moments ticked by as she considered the implications, the ramifications of Connor not being dead. Her anger fizzled in the face of it all. Confusion took over. "I don't... why? What...." She shook her head and glanced at Iggy, who'd crawled up the desk's side. "This is a dream, right?", she asked the spider.
No. No, it is not, Iggy mentally replied. Would you like me to prick you?
"No! That's okay. No need to bite me again."
I did not bite you.
Realizing she was about to argue with her spider while Connor waited on the far side of the open transmission, Oralia held herself back from responding. "What happened? Where have you been? Why did they tell me you were... dead?"
He had been sitting there running his hand over his mouth, and waiting for the questions, not sure where to begin. He covered his mouth again at her mention on how she had been told he was dead. "I'm not exactly sure..", his voice was quiet, he sounded tired, "only what they tell me. Several days ago I was found on a ship they say was part of an illegal operation... I had been placed in a medical induced coma 'n' I only woke up a few days ago. Oralia..." And then he looked at her with such longing, "I didn't know who I was until this morning."
"Where are you now?" In another moment, she'd start crying but for right now, a part of her just wanted to be able to hold him, to touch him. A part of her did not.
"On a starship belonging to Starfleet Intel...", his stress beginning to show, Connor ran his hands over his head and pressed back in his seat, "They won't tell me her name. They informed me this evening in a few days I'll be transferred to some medical ship enroute to the Delta Quadrant."
"Not back here?" Her tears came when he shook his head 'no'. "I'll lean on Li, she'll know something, if you're on an Intel ship."
"She might", he swallowed, his gaze becoming more intense. More than anything he wanted her with him. "Technically, I'm no longer in custody. They stopped their questioning. Medically, I haven't been cleared 'n' I'm under observation. I have to go where they send me..."
"Questioning?" She hesitated to ask just what they'd wanted to know... asking over a commlink like this wasn't the wisest thing to do anyway. "I thought you resigned your commission, Connor. They can't force you to go anywhere if you're a civilian."
He started to answer and found it difficult. His eyes tearing up, he said a moment later, "When I was attacked in the *Cherry Pit, I was on my way to send you a message. I was...coming back," he nodded, and ran a hand over his mouth again, remembering how he had only wanted a few more days to figure out what to do about the civilian population that shied away from Starfleet medical care. "It took me some time, but I realized I was lying to myself. I...didn't go on the walkabout to find myself, I was...running away. I hated the bloke I'd become..." he stopped, looking down at the desk.
Unsure what to say to that... if he'd hated the man he'd become, did he hate the woman who'd been there next to him as well? Oralia swallowed hard. "Oh." She paused then tried again, "What... um... what does that mean for us, now?" Although there was no more 'us' she still wanted to know, a part of her needed to know, "Are you still running away? Wanting to get away from me?"
His eyes widened, he looked quickly back up to her, "No," he shook his head, "never! Oralia, I love you! I want you with me," he put out a hand, "What I'm trying to explain is, I stopped running. I took back my commission."
Her head started to hurt: there was so much information missing, so many questions.... She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. Emotions swirled: elation that he wasn't dead, that he was coming back to her; confusion that he wasn't coming back to her... and she wasn't sure she wanted him to. Dropping her hands, she said, "I don't know if I can be with you, Connor..."
He angled his head, regarding her, his heart breaking for her, "I know... I've hurt you so much...." Deep inside, he was so scared that in the end, after all was said and done, she wouldn't want to be.
Her thoughts were in a jumble, tangled about even tighter thanks to Iggy adding in her two cents. Oralia could only go by what she felt. "Although we've hurt each other, I thought we were going to be fine. Maybe we would have if you had came back..."
So overcome by emotion, it took a several seconds for Connor to respond. "Please don't give up on us," he said, his voice breaking, "As soon as I know where I am going, I'll..I'll send word. Think about it."
"I will." Oralia nodded, crying. "I've gotta go, Connor. Please try to understand." She smiled slightly, touched the screen and then wept when the screen went black, signalling their transmission had ended.
*Within Starbase 900, officially known as Civilian Entertainment & Quarters, the Cherry Pit is sort of a hotbed for seedy bars, transient folks, and those who prey upon the weak and displaced.
